A gentle place to gather strength

Tuesday Inspiration: All things Creative

Welcome to my little online garden, Flora Dwellings! On Tuesdays I invite you to sit on my garden bench as I share some things inspiring me.

Begin Again: Creative Projects

It was a creative weekend at the Hirshburg home, and it was fun! Jeff and I both picked up projects that were long forgotten and never finished, AND we began again.

I started working on a painting of our engagement day.

I actually started the painting over five years ago, but after working on it just a little I stopped! Those five years in-between now in then were my first years as a wife, a teacher, and then a mom! I was learning and experiencing a lot of new things. But I think the true reason for the extended break was that it looked hard. In order for me to really start back up, I needed the permission to try without perfection in mind, to just enjoy the process. I had to tell myself, “it’s okay, it doesn’t have to be perfect, and just have fun”. It feels like completing it is important. The painting is not finished, as you can see, but I enjoyed listening to music and mixing colors. I also needed the space, which I have in our new home.

Is there something creative you started and then quit? Is it a good time to pick it back up again?Our house needs artwork, some art work that is larger in scale. I tend to get lots of little photos or little pieces of art work for the wall, but honestly too many little things pieces everywhere feels cluttered, but I haven’t wanted to spend money on a big piece of art work. So, hopefully I will be painting some bigger pieces like this for my home?! I will let you know.

Also, maybe when it is finished I will write a blog post about that bridge and our engagement day!

Anyways, I am sure Jeff and I could have been doing a million other practical things this weekend, for one cleaning out our messy cars, but I have to say I really enjoyed both of us doing something creative at the same time! Our family loves playing Catan, a board game, but the pieces get bent up a bunch. So here is a pic of the game board Jeff is making out of wood so it will be sturdy! I am loving the way it looks!!! Oliver had his plastic tools out with Daddy pretending to be working with him. So sweet.

Book Inspiration: Steal Like An Artist

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This book was recommended on Hope*writers.com by Myquillyn Smith, author of The Nesting Place. She says it is a must read for creatives. I was so excited to find that it was available to checkout for free as an ebook on the Overdrive Library app! I read through it super quick, and thought it was great!

There were so many good tips from the book, I am just sharing a few.

“Painters learn to paint by reproducing masterpieces.”I particularly loved this advice, because it affirmed what I had already done a few years back! I actually got kicked out of painting class my senior year in high school because my drawing skills were not good enough; and they still are pretty lousy. So I decided to teach myself how to paint, and that was exactly how I started, “by reproducing masterpieces.” Here is me with a painting I reproduced of a Degas, for my sister-in-law. In the pic, I am just posing with the paint brush. I don’t necessarily like copying artwork like that anymore, but it was a great starting point for me!

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Since I am sharing about painting here is a follow-up photo from this past post a It’s never too late to start creating; Tuesday Inspiration. I mentioned I was working on a commissioned piece of art that someone was giving away as a Christmas gift. It was a challenge, but I am so thankful I got my brushes and paint back out after many years, and actually completed it! Thought I would share the finished work with you too!

Also, from the book Steal Like an Artist, I loved the idea to make up a list of artists that inspire you and to gather ideas/techinques from each of them to create your own unique style. For example, I just recently read a non-fiction book by Madeleine L’Engle called The Irrational Season. I didn’t just love all the content of the book, BUT I did LOVE her writing style; how she would incorporate poems into each chapter! I was so thankful to see that as an example for me to use in the future.It was interesting reading about the liturgical seasons/church seasons too. Thanks Madeleine!!!!

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Instagram Inspiration: Creative Friends & Family

And finally, this is just a little tribute to my creative friends and family that I love! Keep creating please, whether it is beautiful art or funny memories!!!!